Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening,
this post should take three to five minutes to read from start to finish.
This post focuses on BYU Devotional in January 2020, and it is called "Enduring Joy" by President of Brigham Young University - Kevin J. Worthen. This post is part three. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the Devotional.
President Worthen mentioned the following; "Third, recognize and remember that true joy, enduring joy - the joy that many visitors to campus sense ultimately comes only through keeping God’s commandments. Remember, King Benjamin indicated that joy describes “the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God.”
... As Joseph Smith explained: Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God.
It is only when we live in accordance with celestial law that we are able to experience celestial joy. ... And one of those commandments is to love our neighbors and to demonstrate that love through serving them, whether it be through formal ministering assignments or just through simple deeds of kindness for a roommate or a stranger.
Focusing on the well-being of others increases our joy, regardless of our external circumstances. ... It is concern for the well-being of others that gives God joy. It is in following Him and His example that we will experience that same fulness.
President Nelson summed up the connection between joy and keeping the commandments with this very practical, but powerful, observation: Every time we nurture our spouse and guide our children, every time we forgive someone or ask for forgiveness, we can feel joy. Every day that you and I choose to live celestial laws, every day that we keep our covenants and help others to do the same, joy will be ours.
 |
| "God's doctrine shows that we are all his children and that he has created us to have joy." - President Dallin H. Oaks. |
Fourth, because we will not in our mortal state keep the commandments perfectly, repentance is a critical part of experiencing enduring joy. Many in the world, and too many in the Church, view repentance as an unpleasant, even dreaded process, confusing the consequences of failing to repent with repentance itself.
... One stake president wisely observed that “if we really understood the doctrine of repentance, we would run to repent.” ... This does not mean that repentance is easy or that it should be done casually. President Nelson has taught, “To repent from sin is not easy. But the prize is worth the price.”
Repentance always stretches our souls, sometimes beyond what we think we can stand, ... So if we want to experience joy, we need to repent - and to even repent joyfully. Because, as President Nelson observed, “when we choose to repent, we choose to . . . receive joy - the joy of redemption.”
Fifth, we need to recognize and remember that joy is a principle of power. Joy is not just a reward for a lifetime effort to follow God’s commandments and to repent when we fail. Joy can increase our ability to stay on the covenant path that leads to enduring joy, to do things we might not otherwise be able to accomplish.
... Similarly, we can bring God’s power into our lives by focusing on joy. President Nelson asked: If we focus on the joy that will come to us, or to those we love, what can we endure that presently seems overwhelming, painful, scary, unfair, or simply impossible?
... What repenting will then be possible? What weakness will become a strength? What chastening will become a blessing? What disappointments, even tragedies, will turn to our good? And what challenging service to the Lord will we be able to give?
Sixth, and finally, all of this is possible only because of Jesus Christ. President Nelson summed it up: “How, then, can we claim . . . joy? We can start by ‘looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith’ ‘in every thought.’”
Let me repeat again, with a little different emphasis, the quote that so many Church leaders have recently shared:
The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.
When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation . . . and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening or not happening in our lives.
Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy. . . . For Latter-day Saints, Jesus Christ is joy! Thus Christ is not only “the author and finisher of our faith” but is, in one sense, the author and finisher of our joy. We begin to have joy when we focus on Christ. We can then bring the power of Christ into our lives by focusing on joy.
I bear witness that He lives and that because He lives, we can, in the world to come, experience the fulness of joy that is part of our eternal destiny, if we so choose. And in this life we can, through joy, survive and flourish spiritually. ..."
If you would like to read the whole Devotional either now or in your own time, here is the link below.
Stay Tuned until next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment